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Is Kane Williamson the best No 3, far ahead of a generation of slipping, stumbling No 3s?
In between all the major matches of the month that saw the close of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle and the commencement of a new edition, a specific conundrum plagued the top 4 Test teams in the running. Australia, South Africa, England, and India have all contemplated and attempted to address this persistent post-COVID predicament in their most recent outings.
When Australia forced a struggling Marnus Labuschagne out to open in the WTC final against South Africa at Lord's, they were only conforming to the developing pattern of troubles for Test cricket's No. 3 this decade. After shuffling between 11 players at the position in the last four years, the Proteas drafted seam all-rounder Wiaan Mulder up to the spot in their three recent matches, including the WTC final, with minimal success.
After the slump of Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill's wavering run at 3 until his captaincy takeover, India ushered in Sai Sudharsan as the latest try-out against England at Headingley. The left-hander became the first of 18 Indian batters to have recorded a duck on Test debut at No. 3. Resisting most to the temptation were England, sticking to their 35-averaging Ollie Pope over a precocious Jacob Bethell offering, and Pope turned up with his ninth Test ton at Leeds.
The hallowed stable of the legendary Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid and Kumar Sangakkara has witnessed marked degeneration with each passing decade this century. The collective batting average of Test cricket's No. 3s has plummeted below 35 in 190 Tests in the last four years, a staggering dip from the 44.77 average across the first 461 Tests this century (between 2001-10).
While batters across the nine WTC-playing countries have encountered harsher conditions more frequently in the last six years, no position in the top six has been under greater scrutiny than the man marked one down, primed to compose all flavours of batting into that one revered spot that has also witnessed the highest individual score (400*) in history.
With as many games played in the WTC as in the five years before it began in mid-2019, no top-6 batting position has witnessed a decline in average runs by more than two, except the No. 3s, poorer by 4.6 runs/innings.
The 2020s mark a period where one cannot truly brand and bracket any No. 3 into the same exalted club as their predecessors. There are few exceptions, but none without their chinks and specific filters to define success.
Not too long ago, Labuschagne was galloping over every No.3 with distinction, averaging 66 (high of 82.61 while crossing 1000 runs) after 44 innings in early 2023. The 45 innings since have drawn a phenomenal freefall, with his averages dropping down to 48.83 at No. 3. Labuschagne's successor in the role, Cameron Green, has endured an iffy initiation, scoring no more than 15 in his first four innings.
It is curious how the drop-offs affected the health of this particular top-order position to such a degree. It can be argued that they brave tougher new-ball spells in this era, but with openers and first-wicket stands not sustaining a striking dip in overall contributions in the two periods, it all narrows to the faulty one-down bats.
Even the stoic Pujara's defences were breached more often at home, his overseas shares failing to string consistent knocks together. Between 2012 and 2019, Pujara tallied 5151 runs at exactly 50.0 at No. 3 with 17 centuries and 21 half-centuries – averaging 60.39 at home, and 39.82 away.
In his last 26 Tests between 2020-23, Pujara raised 1306 at 30.37 at No. 3 – 928 of them overseas at 36.89. Among the most prolific run-scorers at home in his prime, the Saurashtra batter got 314 home Test runs at a meagre 24.15 average in this phase.
Having topped the charts for most runs at No. 3 between 2011-19, Kane Williamson averaged 54.57 in that period across 68 Tests. The Kiwi averaged north of 60 at home and forged an equally impressive haul with more runs (3013) away, averaging 49.33 with 10 centuries.
The former Black Caps skipper has only buttressed his record at No. 3 with a staggering 71-plus average in the last five years, alien to the rest of the miserable No. 3 syndicate. But in a heavily skewed aggregation, Williamson has courted Bradmanesque levels at home in this time, smashing 1948 at 88.54 – making up 71 per cent of his total runs since 2020.
Limited to only 16 away innings in this time, Williamson accorded 668 runs adjusted to 44.53 but heavily influenced by an unbeaten 200 not out on a Karachi flatbed three years ago.
India skipper Gill and England's Pope are the only other active No. 3s to cross 1000 runs since 2020, with their uncannily identical averages at 37.74/37.75, respectively, suggesting inconsistent players capable of the occasional spurt of brilliance.
With 'C/*' captaincy added to his profile, Gill has subtly moved down the roster, turned a corner and opened an entirely new chapter in his red-ball career.
Despite his first-innings hundred against India last week, it is unclear whether Pope can pontificate Bazball through the whole summer, all the way to an away Ashes and beyond.
Test cricket batting seems to be holding shape for now. But its No. 3s are in desperate need of that liberator, the one glorious figure to define a generation and lay down the standards for the rest of the world to catch up to.
Lalith Kalidas is a Senior Sub-Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Working with the online sports desk, Lalith specializes in the happenings on the cricket field, with a particular interest in India's domestic cricket circle. He also carries an affinity towards data-driven stories and often weaves them into cricketing contexts through his analysis. Lalith also writes the weekly stats-based cricket column - 'Stats Corner'. A former cricketer who has played in state-level tournaments in Kerala, he has over three years of experience as a sports journalist. Lalith also covered the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India. ... Read More
